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He died in the early hours of Tuesday in a Derry hospital with his family by his side.

The Northern Ireland Assembly will be recalled on Wednesday due to Mr McGuinness’ death. “Bogside Republicans never retire,” a defiant but tearful Martin McGuinness told his supporters on the night he called time on his political career.

He never travelled far from his roots but his political journey took him far beyond the comfort of Derry’s Bogside.

But Sinn Féin’s one-time chief negotiator always found his toughest negotiation was with his own people, especially in his home city where he faced threats from dissident republican

A visibly ailing Mr McGuinness stood down from his post in January to protest against the DUP’s handling of an energy scandal, in a move that triggered a snap election.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said: “Throughout his life Martin showed great determination, dignity and humility and it was no different during his short illness.

‘Historic contribution’

“He was a passionate republican who worked tirelessly for peace and reconciliation and for the re-unification of his country. But above all he loved his family and the people of Derry and he was immensely proud of both.”

Prime Minister Theresa May said although she could never “condone the path he took in the earlier part of his life, Martin McGuinness ultimately played a defining role in leading the republican movement away from violence”.

“In doing so, he made an essential and historic contribution to the extraordinary journey of Northern Ireland from conflict to peace,” she added.

Colin Parry, whose 12-year-old son, Tim, died in an IRA bomb in Warrington in 1993, said although he did not forgive the IRA or Martin McGuinness, he found him a man who was “sincere in his desire for peace”.

Julie Hambleton, whose sister, Maxine, was one of the 21 people killed in the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974, said “with his death, the truth is buried”.

“Mr McGuinness was very fortunate because he was able to live a full life unlike my sister, unlike 20 other victims and unlike so many other thousands of people who were murdered.”

No-one knows how many people Martin McGuinness killed, directly or indirectly.

As a senior commander in the Provisional IRA for many years, there is no doubt there was blood on his hands.

Security sources say he went on to become chief of staff of the organisation from the early 1980s, right through until the end of the IRA’s campaign of violence.

Nothing happened in Derry without him knowing.

Northern Ireland’s Chief Constable George Hamilton said: “Our society suffered grievously throughout our troubled history; and many police officers and their families are among those who suffered.

“Martin’s journey in life challenges all of us who care about the future; to be prepared to change; to demonstrate leadership; and to work to understand the world, not just from our own perspective, but from the perspectives of everyone in our community.”

Northern Ireland’s former first minister Arlene Foster expressed her “sincere condolences” at his death.

‘Personal journey’

“Today’s news will come as a shock to many people,” she said.

“First and foremost, Martin McGuinness was a much loved husband, father and grandfather. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and the family circle at this very painful time of grief and loss.”

Northern Ireland Secretary of State, James Brokenshire, said Mr. McGuinness’ “personal journey and the clear influence he had on others in the republican movement were instrumental in shaping political institutions in Northern Ireland founded on exclusively peaceful and democratic means”.

Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Enda Kenny said his passing represented a “significant loss, not only to politics in Northern Ireland, but to the wider political landscape on this island and beyond”.

The Democratic Unionist Party MP, Nigel Dodds, survived an IRA gun attack in Belfast in 1996 as he was visiting his sick child in hospital.

“We can’t forget his past. He himself didn’t forget his past. This will also be a difficult day for victims. But he did help move people forward when it comes to the peace process,” he said.

Martin McGuinness grew up in Derry’s Bogside, radicalised, he said, by discrimination and murder on the streets of his city.

In 1972, at the age of 21, he was second-in-command of the IRA in Derry at the time of Bloody Sunday, when 14 civil rights protesters were killed in the city by soldiers.

He had a leading role in the IRA during a time when the paramilitary organisation was bombing his home city.

He was convicted by the Republic of Ireland’s Special Criminal Court after being arrested near a car containing explosives and ammunition. He served two prison sentences – he was also convicted of IRA membership.

But his leadership potential was spotted early and he was just 22 when he and Gerry Adams were flown to London for secret talks with the British government: MI5 considered him serious officer material with strategic vision.

He claimed he made the transition to politics when he left the IRA in 1974 but security experts believe he was still a leader during some of the organisation’s most notorious attacks in the mid 1980s.